Selections were based primarily off high school resumes. Only players who graduated in 2001 or after were considered for inclusion. Read on for the top 25 high school football players of the 21st century (so far).
1. Derrick Henry, Yulee (Fla.) 2013
Resume: Before being named the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2020, the Heisman Trophy winner was a machine in the backfield for Yulee. As a freshman Henry ran for 2,788 yards and 38 touchdowns. As a senior he broke Florida records with 4,261 yards and 55 scores on the ground. Henry finished his high school career with 12,124 rushing yards, breaking the national mark set by Ken Hall in 1953. Combining high school, college and NFL yardage, Henry has rushed for 27,956 yards.
2. Kyler Murray, Allen (Texas)
Class: 2015
Resume: The Arizona Cardinals quarterback went a perfect 42-0 as a starter for Allen between 2012-14. As a senior, Murray led Allen to a national championship by passing for 54 touchdowns and rushing for 24 more while piling up 6,213 total yards. Murray would go on to win the Heisman Trophy at Oklahoma before being selected with the first overall pick of the 2019 NFL Draft.
3. Patrick Mahomes, Whitehouse (Texas)
Class: 2014
Resume: Mahomes earned 2013-14 MaxPreps National Athlete of the Year for his excellence in baseball, basketball and football, but it was the gridiron where the three-time Super Bowl champ's future would lie. As a senior, Mahomes passed for 4,619 yards and chucked 50 touchdowns. Also a game changer with his feet, he rushed for 948 yards and 15 touchdowns.
4. Travis Hunter, Collins Hill (Suwanee, Ga.)
Class: 2022
Resume: Hunter dominated on both sides of the ball on his way to the Heisman Trophy at Colorado, skills he perfected at Collins Hill. During four high school seasons he caught 272 passes for 3,963 yards and 48 touchdowns while picking off 19 passes. In 2020, Hunter was named MaxPreps National Junior the of Year after picking off eight passes while hauling in 24 touchdowns offensively.
5. Jeremiah Smith, Chaminade-Madonna (Hollywood, Fla.)
Class: 2024
Resume: The 2023 MaxPreps All-American is already one of the most dominant college football players in the country heading into his sophomore season. It started in high school as Smith helped lead Chaminade-Madonna to three consecutive state championships. As a senior, he caught 90 passes for 1,389 yards and 19 touchdowns for the No. 2 team in the nation.
6. Adrian Peterson, Palestine (Texas)
Class: 2004
Resume: Went for more than 5,000 rushing yards in two years of high school football and continued that dominance into college and the NFL. As a true freshman at Oklahoma he finished second in the Heisman Trophy voting. The top 10 draft pick went on to rush for 14,918 career rushing yards, No. 5 in NFL history.
7. Trevor Lawrence, Cartersville (Ga.)
Class: 2018
Resume: The No. 1 overall pick of the 2021 NFL Draft set the Georgia record for career passing yards and touchdowns in high school. Lawrence won 41 straight games and two state titles with the Hurricanes while passing for at least 3,000 yards all four years. In his final two years of high school he threw 92 touchdowns against just 10 picks. Lawrence won a national title at Clemson before joining Jacksonville.
8. Jadeveon Clowney, South Pointe (Rock Hill, S.C.)
Class: 2011
Resume: Helped South Pointe go undefeated and win a state championship as a sophomore in 2008 with 17 sacks. As a senior, the No. 1 overall pick of the 2014 NFL Draft recorded 29.5 sacks, 11 forced fumbles and nine rushing touchdowns offensively.
9. Vince Young, Madison (Houston, Texas)
Class: 2002
Resume: Before leading Texas to a national championship in the 2006 Rose Bowl, Young dominated in Houston. The five-star signal-caller accounted for 59 touchdowns as a senior. The Marlins made a run to the state semifinals that year where Young had 400 yards and six touchdowns in a narrow loss. The No. 3 overall pick of the 2006 NFL Draft had 12,987 total yards in three years as a high school starter.
10. Reggie Bush, Helix (La Mesa, Calif.)
Class: 2003
Resume: Won two San Diego Section titles in his final two years at Helix, where his quarterback was future No. 1 overall pick Alex Smith. Bush had 3,135 all-purpose yards as a junior with 34 touchdowns. He then rushed for 27 touchdowns as a senior before embarking on his Heisman Trophy journey to USC and the NFL.
11. Sean Taylor, Gulliver Prep (Miami, Fla.)
Class: 2001
Resume: An All-Pro safety in the NFL, Taylor played on both sides of the ball in high school. As a senior, Taylor rushed for a Florida record 44 touchdowns as Gulliver Prep won a state crown. He rushed for at least 200 yards twice in the postseason. Taylor also had four defensive scores and three return touchdowns that season before winning a national championship in college at Miami and becoming a first-round pick by Washington in the 2004 NFL Draft.
12. Leonard Fournette, St. Augustine (New Orleans, La.)
Class: 2014
Resume: As a freshman at St. Augustine in 2010, Fournette ran for 1,735 yards and 22 touchdowns. He led the Purple Knights to 35 wins and piled up 88 TDs before moving on to LSU and the NFL, where he won a Super Bowl with Tampa Bay.
13. Johnathan Gray, Aledo (Texas)
Class: 2012
Resume: Broke the single-season national record as a junior with 59 touchdowns and then did it again as a senior when he went for 65. The 2011 MaxPreps National Player of the Year had over 10,000 rushing yards in his career and broke the career record with 205 TDs as Aledo won three straight state championships. Gray played college football at Texas and rushed for 2,607 career yards.
14. Bryce Young, Mater Dei (Santa Ana, Calif.)
Class: 2020
Resume: The 2019 MaxPreps National Player of the Year threw for 4,528 yards as a senior and 13,250 in his career. The Heisman Trophy winner and 2023 first overall NFL pick won 46 games in his high school career.
15. Micah Parsons, Harrisburg (Pa.)
Class: 2018
Resume: The Dallas Cowboys defensive end had 55 sacks in his high school career, including 18.5 as a freshman. As a senior, the four-time Pro Bowler was a two-way star for the Cougars. Parsons rushed for 1,239 yards and 27 touchdowns on 109 carries while recording double-digit sacks and 55 tackles for an 11-1 squad.
16. Gerald McCoy, Southeast (Oklahoma City, Okla.)
Class: 2006
Resume: The No. 3 overall pick in the 2010 NFL Draft was a wrecking ball at Southeast before going to college at Oklahoma. During his junior and senior seasons, McCoy recorded 165 tackles and 40 sacks. The defensive tackle went on to an All-Pro NFL career with 59.5 career sacks in 11 seasons.
17. Amon-Ra St. Brown, Mater Dei
Class: 2018
Resume: Hauled in 20 touchdown receptions as the Monarchs won a national championship in his senior year. In three years at Mater Dei, the Detroit Lions star caught 154 passes for 2,922 yards and 44 touchdowns. Since being drafted in the third round of the 2021 NFL Draft, St. Brown has averaged more than 1,200 receiving yards per season in Detroit.
18. Caleb Downs, Mill Creek (Hoschton, Ga.)
Class: 2023
Resume: Dominated on both sides of the ball and led Mill Creek to a state title as a senior in 2022. That season he was named MaxPreps National Player of the Year after rushing for 20 touchdowns and intercepting five passes. In his career Downs intercepted 19 passes and had seven defensive touchdowns. He earned SEC Freshman of the Year honors at Alabama in 2023 before transferring to Ohio State, where he was named Big Ten Defensive Back of the Year in 2024.
19. Garrett Wilson, Lake Travis (Austin, Texas)
Class: 2019
Resume: The New York Jets wide receiver won a state championship and caught 57 touchdowns with the Cavaliers, including 26 as a junior. As a senior Wilson caught a touchdown in every game, including three in back-to-back postseason games. Wilson dazzled at Ohio State and was a first round pick in 2022.
20. Eugene Monroe, Plainfield (N.J.)
Class: 2005
Resume: The 6-foot-5, 300-pound tackle didn't allow a single sack in his final three years of high school. After playing in college at Virginia, Jacksonville selected Monroe No. 8 overall in the 2009 NFL Draft and he played 93 career games.
21. Bijan Robinson, Salpointe Catholic (Tucson, Ariz.)
Class: 2020
Resume: The Atlanta Falcons running back rushed for 7,036 yards and 103 touchdowns in his prep career with a pair of appearances in the state championship game. The five-star shined at Texas before becoming a first-round pick in 2023.
22. Dorial Green-Beckham, Hillcrest (Springfield, Mo.)
Class: 2012
Resume: Became the nation's all-time leading receiver during a senior year where he caught 119 passes and scored 24 touchdowns. The 6-foot-5 pass-catcher was the No. 1 recruit in the nation and had 6,356 career yards on 300 catches — more than 21 yards per catch. Showed his dominance at times in college by going for 144 yards and a pair of scores in the 2013 SEC championship game. The 2015 second round pick caught 68 passes in his two-year NFL career.
23. Myles Garrett, Martin (Arlington, Texas)
Class: 2014
Resume: The
No. 1 overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft has 102.5 career sacks with the
Cleveland Browns. He was also a wrecking ball in high school with over
30 career sacks. As a senior he sacked the quarterback 20.5 times,
forced three fumbles and blocked four kicks on a 10-3 squad.
24. Percy Harvin, Landstown (Virginia Beach, Va.)
Class: 2006
Resume: Harvin completed the championship trifecta with titles in high school, college and the NFL. He scored at least one touchdown in each of those victories, including five as Landstown won the state title his junior year. Harvin scored 77 touchdowns, snagged 25 interceptions and reached three state title games during his storied run in Virginia.
25. Andre Smith, Huffman (Birmingham, Ala.)
Class: 2006
Resume: A veteran of 121 NFL games, Smith locked down his side of the offensive line for Huffman between 2002-05. The five-star tackle registered 88 pancake blocks as a senior before beginning his college career at Alabama.
